Last week, I picked up a 2011 Lexus IS 350 AWD from Lexus Canada HQ for a road test, and so far, I’ve found it a very easy car to drive fast. I don’t know if it’s the AWD system or the memory of the LFA driving school, but there’s some serious confidence happening in this car.

Notably, this is the first time I’ve driven anything other than a barebones IS — this IS 350 is packed with all the trimmings, including the Mark Levinson 14-speaker sound system, navigation, even a rear power sunshade — and all that tech really bumps up the experience.

It also bumps up the price, from the base IS AWD price of $44,950 up to $52,950 due to its $8,000 worth of options — pretty serious stuff.

If you’re interested in following along with my time in the car, I’m going to repeat what I did with the LS 600hL — that is, I’ll be updating this Road Test page instead of writing daily or weekly posts. There’s a link to the page in the sidebar, and this direct link: